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Series 2: Episode 4 (Life on Mars)
The fourth episode of the second series of the British time travel police procedural television series, Life on Mars, was first broadcast on 13 March 2007. The episode, known erroneously as "Suburban Swingers", was produced by Kudos Film & Television for BBC One. Synopsis The body of a young woman is found in wasteland. The investigation takes the team to suburbia, where a local car dealer is throwing private parties, employing make-up girls from a local company to “help out” when the wife-swapping begins. Posing as married couple Tony and Cherie Blair, Sam and Annie Cartwright infiltrate one of the parties, only to discover that it isn't as simple as they think. Plot The dead body of a woman is discovered by children on wasteland, with an examination later revealing the presence of a crushed red geranium in her hand. This echoes the crimes of a serial killer – who died in prison – through the use of the ‘Flower of Death’. In front of Sam’s eyes, a young make-up saleswoman, Denise, is bundled out of a moving car but is initially reluctant to talk. Sam discovers that she, like the murder victim used to, works as a make-up saleswoman. The car is soon identified as belonging to Roger Twilling, a respected businessman who Denise also reveals has a fondness for hosting wild partner-swapping sex parties. Sam gives the guys a lesson in the art of surveillance techniques, but Gene Hunt is more concerned with finding out about Chris’ attempts to seduce a new ladyfriend. The young copper soon reveals that a bit too much Dutch courage led him to puke all over the poor lass (much to the amusement of Gene and Ray). Sam and Annie pose as Tony and Cherie Blair at a local tennis club to infiltrate the social lair of Twilling, and soon secure an invite to dinner… which in turn leads to the couple being asked if they want to attend a swingers bash. This is helped by Sam’s flirtations with Roger’s wife Carol. They turn up at the seedy party in a race against time, for Denise is now missing. As the men in attendance prepare to do a spot of wife-swapping, an unexpected visitor turns up in the shape of an undercover Gene – complete with a hooker who owed him a favour. Sam thinks quickly and manages to convince Roger that the man is his friend ‘Gordon Brown’, who he let slip information about the party to. Partners are then swapped and Annie ends up with Roger – the main suspect in the copycat killings. As Sam smooches Roger’s wife Carol in a separate room, screaming is heard. Both Sam and Gene break off their amorous activities and make a mad dash to save Annie. Or so they thought… For they turn up to find the young policewoman in full dominatrix mode giving Roger a stern whipping. Their cover now blown, they opt to arrest Roger and give him a good grilling down the station. But courtesy of the businessman’s tough lawyer, they discover nothing. However, a listening device Annie planted in Roger’s car alerts the police to Denise’s current whereabouts – and the fact that Carol Twilling is behind her abduction. They track them down to a caravan in the nick of time and prevent the murderess from strangling the battered make-up girl. Case solved. Finally, Sam receives a present-day message from his beloved Auntie Heather via his television set. This is particularly distressing from him, as he earlier came face to face with her in 1973 when interviewing the make-up sellers. She rejected his attempts to make conversation, unaware of his real identity. Cast *Sam Tyler — John Simm *Gene Hunt — Philip Glenister *Chris Skelton — Marshall Lancaster *Ray Carling — Dean Andrews *Annie Cartwright — Liz White *Nelson — Tony Marshall *Phyllis Dobbs — Noreen Kershaw *Test Card Girl — Rafaella Hutchinson *Roger Twilling — Nicholas Palliser *Carol Twilling — Eva Pope *Denise Williams — Georgia Taylor *Edith Williams — Meryl Hampton *Young Sam — Alexander O'Loughlin Cultural references *The dinner table conversation about a coup if Harold Wilson won the next election is a conspiracy theory that became common in the late 1970s and into the 1980s, particularly as Wilson's mental capacity declined and Labour supporters looked for someone to blame for the Conservative party's general election victory in 1979. Although it is a conspiracy theory that Sam would know about, it wasn't discussed at the time so casts further doubt as to whether Sam is actually in 1973 or his own version of it. *Sam and Annie adopt the noms-de-guerre of Tony and Cherie Blair when they go undercover, being the name of the British Prime Minister and his wife from Sam's own time. When Gene Hunt gatecrashes the party Sam refers to him as "Gordon Brown", Tony Blair's Chancellor of the Exchequer and successor as Prime Minister. Needless to say, Brown's wife isn't called Suki. Production *"Coffee, Tea, or Annie", the fourteenth episode of the U.S. series, is a loose adaptation of this episode. Music *Lay Down - Strawbs *I'm Ready - Frankie Miller *Court In The Act - Lindisfarne *Samba Pa Ti - Santana *Coz I Luv You - Slade *Aladdin Sane - David Bowie *Rock On - T.Rex *When The City Sleeps - Barclay James Harvest *Alone Again (Naturally) - Gilbert O'Sullivan *The Story In Your Eyes - The Moody Blues Category:Life on Mars (UK) episodes